Benefits of learning a language while in college and beyond

While in college:

According to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, learning a foreign language supports overall academic achievement, improves cognitive and communicative abilities, and affects attitudes and beliefs about other cultures.[1] Learning another language will help you develop and enhance your communication skills both in English and in the target language. It will teach you to work with a diverse group of people and adapt to differing worldviews. Learning a language takes time, patience and practice, so it also teaches you to be organized and to set realistic goals.

In your future career:

Research by economists Albert Saiz and Elena Zoido also shows that the benefits from learning another language translate to the workplace: “individuals who speak a second language are more productive and earn higher wages.”[2] Their study suggests that the income of college graduates who speak German, Italian, Russian, or Chinese can be higher by 4%, with a difference of 2.7% for speakers of French and 1.7% for Spanish speakers. Specifically, they observe, “individuals in personal services, business support, and management positions are the ones who are more highly rewarded in the labor market for their foreign-language skills.”[3] iSeek, Minnesota's career, education and job resource, indicates that the most sought-after languages are “Spanish, German, French, Italian, Russian and Japanese, with a growing emphasis on Mandarin, given China's booming economy.”[4]